And just so you know where the Sherrods are coming from: When their daughter was born in 1967, while America was at war with communist North Vietnam, Charles and Shirley named their baby girl Russia — “with love,” no doubt. Read the rest at Riehl World View.

UPDATE: Yesterday, I called Dan out of the blue — more or less randomly, because I hadn’t talked to him in a while and his name came up in a conversation at the Right Online conference– and he told me about this scoop, which caused me to Tweet:

The “out of context,” you see, was kind of an inside joke, allusion to the charge of “raaaaacism” against Andrew Breitbart after he published a video of Shirley Sherrod. Breitbart says he only later learned had been edited to omit Sherrod’s “moral of the story” explanation that changed the meaning of comments that, in the edited version, were explosively inflammatory — but not as inflammatory as Sherrod’s subsequent accusation on CNN that Breitbart wants to reinstitute chattel slavery.

Dan worked very hard to find this new video and then to document the facts about Charles and Shirley Sherrod’s political history. So when he told me yesterday what he was preparing to release this morning, he made me promise not to breathe a word prematurely to anyone about the content, on penalty of death.

Was this threat merely a figure of speech? Probably. He laughed after he said it. But it’s Dan Riehl, and I certainly wouldn’t want to risk discovering whether he meant “hunt you down and kill your family” as a metaphor.

Dan’s from Jersey, y’know.

UPDATE II: OK, so the Sherrods named their daughter “Russia,” what about their son, Kenyatta? No doubt, he was named for Kenyan dictator Jomo Kenyatta. Because I’m in Vegas today, I don’t have access to my home-office reference library, but from Wikipedia we learn:

In 1932 to 1933, he briefly studied economics in Moscow at the Comintern School, KUTVU (University of the Toilers of the East) before his sponsor, the Trinidadian communist George Padmore,fell out with his Soviet hosts, forcing Kenyatta to move back to London. . . .
He made the Kikuyu-led KANU practically the only political party of Kenya. He consolidated his power greatly, and placed several of his Kikuyu tribesmen in most of the powerful state and security offices and posts. State security forces harassed dissidents and were suspected of complicity in several murders of prominent personalities deemed as threats to his regime . . .
In the 1969 elections, Kenyatta banned the only other party, KPU . . .
He remained president until his death . . . in 1978.

So, like Mussolini, Kenyatta was a communist-turned-nationalist. He made Kenya a one-party state and thus became one of those typical Third World despots who suppress all opposition and surround themselves with corrupt cronies.

This was the man for whom the Sherrods named their son. And because we wouldn’t want to be accused of taking that out of context, we’ll point out that Kenyatta Sherrod seems to have turned out to be an upstanding citizen, a health care executive for Pfizer-Thermacare in Albany, Ga.

If the discussion came down to principles and philosophy, maybe the name calling would subside.
The real issue is the extent to which government wields power; and the extent to which has forever avoided enforcing protections against force and fraud.
If it were held within limits, it would not matter if Shirley hates every iota of a cracker, or not.
And gg would not be having this argument about a 19th century novel.
The main argument I’d have with what gg implies is that you cannot legislate equality of preference, taste, comfort, acceptance etc.
Once equality under the law is attempted realistically, and fraud and force become the focus rather than individual behavior and thought modification, freedom has a better chance.
The other way has kept many groups in a voting block–which indicates a dirth of individual critical thinking, and an attempt to use ignorance as a political weapon. Who supports the attitude in many neighborhoods that academic excellence, honesty and constructive creativity are a sin against your own people? People who want those groups to remain largely ignorant, dependent, and easily control with a false sense of power over others. If you divide people by values and philosophy rather than condition of birth, you lose control over them.

JT

If the discussion came down to principles and philosophy, maybe the name calling would subside.
The real issue is the extent to which government wields power; and the extent to which has forever avoided enforcing protections against force and fraud.
If it were held within limits, it would not matter if Shirley hates every iota of a cracker, or not.
And gg would not be having this argument about a 19th century novel.
The main argument I’d have with what gg implies is that you cannot legislate equality of preference, taste, comfort, acceptance etc.
Once equality under the law is attempted realistically, and fraud and force become the focus rather than individual behavior and thought modification, freedom has a better chance.
The other way has kept many groups in a voting block–which indicates a dirth of individual critical thinking, and an attempt to use ignorance as a political weapon. Who supports the attitude in many neighborhoods that academic excellence, honesty and constructive creativity are a sin against your own people? People who want those groups to remain largely ignorant, dependent, and easily control with a false sense of power over others. If you divide people by values and philosophy rather than condition of birth, you lose control over them.

So what if she went to Spain. Americans were you doing all this complaining when Bush was in the office? I don’s think so. The economy was bad prior to Obama becoming president thanks to him. We have other things to worry about than were Michelle vacations. She is the first lady of the U.S she can vacation where ever she chooses. You people are making such a big deal about it because she is BLACK. You people should get a life!!!!

http://identi.ca/drivingwithoutinsurance kelly

So what if she went to Spain. Americans were you doing all this complaining when Bush was in the office? I don’s think so. The economy was bad prior to Obama becoming president thanks to him. We have other things to worry about than were Michelle vacations. She is the first lady of the U.S she can vacation where ever she chooses. You people are making such a big deal about it because she is BLACK. You people should get a life!!!!